Thin metal coating methods for high conductivity graphane-metal composites and methods of manufacture

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present technology include graphane-metal composites. An example graphane-metal composite includes a porous metal foam substrate, a graphane layer deposited to the porous metal foam substrate, a metal layer applied to the graphane layer, and another graphane layer deposited to the metal layer; the multilayered porous metal foam substrate being compressed to form a graphane-metal composite, and depositing a thin metal coating on an outer surface of the porous metal foam substrate or an outer surface of the graphane using any of physical vapor deposition and chemical vapor deposition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims the prioritybenefit, of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/017,578 filed on Feb. 5,2016, entitled “High Conductivity Graphane-Metal Composite and Methodsof Manufacture,” which is a continuation-in-part, and claims thepriority benefit, of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/947,951 filedon Nov. 20, 2015, entitled “High Conductivity Graphene-Metal Compositeand Methods of Manufacture,” all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE PRESENT TECHNOLOGY

The present technology relates generally to manufacturing methods, andmore particularly but not by limitation, to methods for providing thinmetal coatings for graphene-metal composites, a stanene-metalcomposites, or graphene-metal composites to provide substantial heat andelectrical transfer properties from materials such as graphene, stanene,or graphane deposited on porous metal foam followed by compression toincrease heat and electrical transfer properties.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present technology include a graphane-metal compositecomprising: a porous metal foam substrate and a graphane layer depositedto the porous metal foam substrate, the porous metal foam substrate withgraphane being compressed into a graphane-metal composite.

In some embodiments, the graphane-metal composite can be manufactured bydepositing graphane onto a porous metal foam substrate and compressingthe porous metal foam substrate with graphane to form a graphane-metalcomposite. In some embodiments, graphane is deposited onto the porousmetal foam substrate by chemical vapor deposition.

Other embodiments of the present technology include a graphane-metalcomposite comprising: a porous metal foam substrate; a graphane layerdeposited to the porous metal foam substrate; a metal layer applied tothe graphane layer; and another graphane layer deposited to the metallayer, the multilayered porous metal foam substrate being compressed toform a graphane-metal composite.

In some embodiments, the graphene-metal composite can be manufactured bydepositing a layer of graphane onto a porous metal foam substrate;applying a layer of metal on top of the layer of graphane; depositinganother layer of graphane onto the layer of metal; and compressing themultilayered porous metal foam substrate to form a graphane-metalcomposite.

According to some embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to amethod for manufacturing a graphane-metal composite comprising:depositing graphane onto a porous metal foam substrate; compressing theporous metal foam substrate with graphane applied to form agraphane-metal composite; and depositing a thin metal coating on anouter surface of the porous metal foam substrate or an outer surface ofthe graphane using any of physical vapor deposition and chemical vapordeposition.

According to some embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to amethod, comprising: depositing a layer of graphane onto a porous metalfoam substrate; applying a layer of metal on top of the layer ofgraphane; depositing another layer of graphane onto the layer of metal;compressing the multilayered porous metal foam substrate to form agraphane-metal composite; placing the multilayered porous metal foamsubstrate in a vacuum chamber; vaporizing a target metal or alloy; andallowing the vaporized target metal or alloy to deposit on an outersurface of the multilayered porous metal foam substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a SEM (scanning electron microscope) micrograph of a nickelfoam structure.

FIG. 1B is a conceptual drawing showing an open-cell metal foamsubstrate such as nickel foam.

FIG. 2 illustrates the chemical structure of graphene.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual drawing showing the result of chemical vapor.deposition of graphene in an open-cell metal foam substrate to form anexample open-cell graphene-metal composite.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a chemical vapor deposition (CVD)manufacturing process.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of manufacturinga graphene-metal composite according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent technology.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of clad material withenhanced graphene according to exemplary embodiments of the presenttechnology.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of an embodiment of roll bonded nickeland copper foil enhanced with graphene according to exemplaryembodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 8 illustrates die casting enhanced nickel foam into a frameaccording to exemplary embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method ofmanufacturing a graphene-metal composite according to exemplaryembodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method ofmanufacturing a graphane-metal composite according to exemplaryembodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method ofmanufacturing a graphane-metal composite according to exemplaryembodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an example computer system that can beutilized to implement aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example method for both creating agraphane-metal composite and coating an outer surface of thegraphane-metal composite with a thin metal coating using chemical orphysical vapor deposition.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an example method for both creating agraphane-metal composite and coating an outer surface of thegraphane-metal composite with a thin metal coating using chemical vapordeposition using plasma injection and/or alternatively evaporativeprocesses in physical vapor deposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Conventional plating methods and resultant plated products suffer fromvarious drawbacks and deficiencies. For example, consistency anduniformity of a thin film coating/plating are problematic. Besides that,these processes involve hazardous chemicals that cause pollution toenvironment and are costly.

The present disclosure contemplates the use of, for example, physicalvapor deposition (PVD) and/or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in orderto replace current methods for plating.

It will be understood that PVD is a thin film coating method that solidmetal is vaporized in a high vacuum environment and deposited onelectrically conductive materials as a pure metal or alloy coating.

According to some embodiments, energy can be added when in vacuum topromote evaporation of metal. Among are high temperature (such asthermal evaporate deposition), high-power laser (pulsed laserdeposition), high-power electric arc discharged (cathodic arcdeposition), highly energetic pulsed electron beam (pulsed electrondeposition), and high energy electron (electron beam physical vapordeposition)—just to name a few.

In some embodiments, plasma can be utilized as a source of energy, inprocesses referred to as sputtering coating. In sputtering, thesubstrate (part to coat with metal) is placed inside a vacuum chamber.Gaseous plasma is injected into the vacuum chamber and accelerated to asource metal (used as the thin coating material) through an electricfield. A cluster of atoms or molecules of source metal are ejected bycollisions of the source metal with the plasma. The source metal willtravel to the substrate and form a layer of uniform coating. Otherexample sputtering processes such as magnetron sputtering, ion-beamsputtering, reactive sputtering, and high-target-utilization sputteringcan be utilized.

As mentioned above, the coating of a metallic substrate (e.g., targetsubstrate) with a thin film also can be facilitated by chemical reactionthrough chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The plasma enhanced CVD coatingmethod utilizes plasma to deeply fragment organic precursor molecules inthe target substrate. The high temperature decomposes the organicprecursor molecules and releases a metal cluster(s), which subsequentlydeposit onto the metallic substrates within a reaction chamber. Forexample, organic precursor molecules of a copper coating such asCu(hfac)2 or Copper(II) hexafluoroacetylacetonate hydrate can beutilized.

Other example metallic compositions that can be used to create the thinmetal films of the present include, but are not limited to copper,nickel, chromium, tungsten, gold, silver, platinum, titanium, aluminum,molybdenum, germanium, zinc, tantalum, tin, and combinations thereof.These thin metal layers can be deposited, for example on the multiplealloy/non alloy clad materials described in greater detail herein.

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and notlimitation, specific details are set forth, such as particularembodiments, procedures, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent toone skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced inother embodiments that depart from these specific details.

The present disclosure is directed to graphene-metal composites,stanene-metal composites, graphene-metal composites, and methods ofmanufacture. Graphene is the strongest material, best electricalconductor, and is very light weight. Graphene can be used in variousapplications such as batteries for electric drive automobiles, filtermaterial for water filters, bendable LCD screens for consumerelectronics, nano-electronics, or light weight body panels forcommercial aircrafts. Production techniques for graphene and componentsand systems integrating graphene are growing rapidly.

Stanene is an ultrathin superconductor. Stanene could be integrated intocomputer chips at critical junctions to improve speed and energyefficiency. Additionally, graphane could be applied in nanoelectronicsas a base for printed circuits with conducting and nonconducting sites.

Since graphene is a two dimensional layer of carbon atoms only onecarbon thick and stanene is a two dimensional single layer of tin atomswith the possible addition of fluorine atoms, graphene and stanene havelarge surface to volume ratios and very little capacity because they areso thin. However, because graphene transmits heat very efficiently, itis desirable to use graphene as a thermal heat sink in order todissipate heat. When graphene is layered upon another layer of graphene,it forms graphite which is very brittle and less conductive. There is aneed to solve the problem of increasing thermal and electrical capacityof graphene. Stanene, comprised of the heavy atom tin, may be atopological insulator and 100% efficient in the transfer of electrons ator above room temperature. Moreover, by adding fluorine atoms to the tinstructure, stanene may be super conductive at around the boiling pointof water.

Graphane is a two-dimensional, hexagonal hydrogenated form of graphene.The hydrogen atoms are attached at opposites of the carbon atoms plane.In comparison to graphene, graphane retains the thinness,super-strength, flexibility and density of graphene, but thehydrogen-carbon bond of graphane has an insulating effect. It has beenfound that the heat capacity of graphane is slightly higher than that ofgraphene. Additionally, the increased flexibility of graphane gives riseto possible high efficiency, high density hydrogen storage. In someinstances, graphane and partially hydrogenated graphane structures maybe written on graphene in specific areas, for example, usingelectron-beam lithography.

Graphane is also an insulator and can be bonded onto any layer. It canthen be used as a barrier to direct heat in the direction needed. Insome embodiments, certain areas of graphane can act as a shield and cantunnel heat into specific pathways. Theoretically, heat can be boxed inon all sides and then directed to a chamber or exhaust area.

In the present technology, graphene is deposited onto a porous metalfoam substrate, for example, by chemical vapor deposition. Alternativematerials, such as stanene or graphane, may be used in place of graphenethroughout the present technology. Any metal foam may be used in thepresent technology, including, but not limited to, nickel foam andcopper foam. In some embodiments, chemical vapor deposition can coat theinternal voids and metal bridges within nickel foam with graphene. Bycompressing the nickel foam deposited with graphene with a compressiveforce, a graphene-metal composite is created with a flattened graphenematrix for current to travel across. Even before compression, additionallayers of graphene can be deposited, but the graphene cannot bedeposited directly onto carbon atoms, which would form graphite. Insteada layer of metal, such as copper, nickel, palladium, gold, or any othermetal, can be flash coated over graphene or by any other platingmechanism in order for another layer of graphene to be grown on top ofthe metal followed by compression after a desired number of layers ofgraphene have been deposited. In some embodiments, the porous metal foamenhanced with graphene, stanene, or graphane can be used in fiber opticsto increase thermal, electrical, and shielding properties.

These and other advantages of the present technology will be describedwith reference to the collective drawings.

Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, which collectively illustrate anembodiment of nickel foam, FIG. 1A is a SEM micrograph depicting anexemplary microstructure of foamed nickel. FIG. 1B is a conceptualdrawing showing an open-cell metal foam substrate. An open-cell metalfoam refers to the structure formed by a plurality of cells where insidesurfaces of the cells are accessible from neighboring cells in contrastto closed-cell structure where individual cells may be self-contained,for example, in a bubble-like structure. The open-cell metal foamstructure 100 of FIG. 1B comprises metal foam 110 formed with voidspaces 120. According to exemplary embodiments, open-cell metal foamstructure 100 is comprised of nickel. Nickel foam is a low densitypermeable material with a very high porosity. Nickel foam can be made ina wide porosity range, for example, ranging from 70% to 98% by volume.In some embodiments, the porosity of nickel foam used in the presenttechnology is where at least 95% of the volume consists of void spacesor higher.

In some embodiments, the nickel foam utilized in the present technologycan be produced by coating polyurethane foam with nickel metal, forexample, by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The nickel-coatedpolyurethane foam is heated to remove the polymer substrate, leaving theporous nickel as the finished product. The pore size is determined bythe pore size of the polymer template. The CVD process is unique in thatit allows a uniform 3-D distribution of nickel on the polymer substrateover a wide range of thicknesses of the nickel. The thickness of thenickel is determined by residence time inside a plating chamber.

FIG. 2 illustrates the chemical structure of graphene. Graphene is a twodimensional sheet of carbon arranged in hexagonal honeycomb lattice thathas highly desirable physical properties. Graphene is the strongestmaterial compared to other materials in Table 1, having a Young'smodulus of 1000 GPa, yet it is extremely flexible, quite stable, andmechanically resilient. Graphene can also be transferred onto any shapedsurface, flat or irregular. Graphene is also the best electricalconductor compared to other materials in Table 1, having a theoreticalconductivity of 5020 W/m*K, and graphene transmits heat veryefficiently. Graphene, being a single atomic layer thick, has a largesurface to volume ratio; however, the thinness of graphene results invery little capacity.

Other carbon allotropes that comprise variations on the latticestructure of graphene are graphite, diamond, and carbon nanotubes.Graphite comprises many layers of graphene stacked on top of each other.While each layer of carbon atoms are tightly bound, only weak bondsknown as van der Waals bonds exist between the layers. These weak vander Waals bonds enable the layers to slide laterally, making graphiteslippery and brittle. As seen in Table 1, the conductivity of graphenecan be almost 3 times higher or more than the conductivity of graphite.

Diamond is the most stable form of pure carbon. There are two ways, inorder to achieve its tetrahedral lattice structure, very high pressureand high temperature or chemical vapor deposition, making diamondsdifficult to make. Diamond is about 15 times denser than graphene, butgraphene has a higher tensile strength with a similar Young's modulusdescribed in Table 1.

Carbon nanotubes are layers of graphene that have been grown into atube. While carbon nanotubes can have diameters only in nanometers,carbon nanotubes can grow to millimeters in length. Carbon nanotubes areone of the strongest fibers with high conductivity like graphene. Somecarbon nanotubes have diameters of 1.3 to 3 nanometers, which aremicroscopic and much smaller than the smallest voids in nickel foam.Unlike single layers of graphene, carbon nanotubes are able to switch onand off using three times less power than traditional silicontransistors.

TABLE 1 Strength Properties and Thermal Conductivity of VariousMaterials. Tensile Young Conductivity Density strength Modules Material(Wlm * k) (glc m3) (MPa) (GPa) Stainless Steel 16 8.74 2000 210 Tin 677.3  15-200 47 Nickel 91 8.908 140-195 170 Aluminum 210 2.71 40-50 70Brass 115 8.5 550 97 (70Cu—30Zn) Copper 398 8.94 220 130 Gold 315 19.32100 79 Silver 428 10.49 170 83 Diamond 2500 3.51 60000 1050 Graphite300-1500 1.3-1.95 6.9 to 100 8 to 15 (pyrolytic, some planes) Graphene5020 .215 130000 1000 (theoretical) Carbon 3500 0.116 11000-63000 NIANanotubes (theoretcal) Carbon Fiber 21-180 NIA 1600 for NIA laminates,4137 for fibers alone

FIG. 3 is a conceptual drawing showing chemical vapor deposition ofgraphene in an open-cell metal foam substrate 110 to form an open-cellgraphene-metal foam 300 arranged according to embodiments describedherein. Graphene layer 310 may be deposited by a CVD process on metalfoam 110 to form a graphene-metal foam 300. For example, graphene layer310 may be deposited on the inner surfaces of metal foam 110 in metalfoam void spaces 120, resulting in graphene-metal foam void spaces 320.

The CVD process illustrated in FIG. 4 may use any suitable materials andconditions for forming graphene by CVD. For example, in a sealed centerchamber comprising an inner tube 410 and an outer tube 420, at least twogases, such as methane (CH4) and hydrogen (H2) can be flowed such thatthe at least two gasses can meet at a vortex in the center. A roll of ametal foam substrate 430, such as nickel foam, can be sent through thesealed chamber. As the roll of metal foam substrate 430 is heated insidethe sealed center chamber at annealing zone 440 and methane gas isflowed through inner tube 410 and hydrogen gas flowed through outer tube320, the hydrogen catalyzes a reaction between methane and the surfaceand voids of the roll of metal foam substrate 430, causing carbon atomsfrom the methane to be deposited onto and within the voids of the metalfoam substrate 430. Once a carbon atom occupies a position on thesurface of the metal substrate, it pushes other carbons to the side,creating a one atom thick layer of carbon. As the sealed center chamberis quickly cooled at growth stage 450, the deposited carbon layer iscrystallized into a continuous graphene layer on metal foam substrate430, and the deposited carbon layer is kept from aggregating into bulkgraphite. In some embodiments, a payout and take up mechanism moves theroll of metal foam substrate 430 through the sealed center changer,resulting in a roll of metal foam substrate deposited with graphene 460.

CVD of graphene on a metal foam substrate provides a much larger surfacearea to be coated with graphene compared to a single layer of graphenethat is deposited on a solid metal film. For example, a 1 inch by 1 inchby 0.003 inch piece of solid nickel film coated by graphene could havetwo layers of graphene per side, which would be 0.0000000078 inchesthick and 46×1015 atoms per side based on the two layers. Based on theamount of atoms, the graphene weight in grams can be calculated.Similarly, the weight of atoms deposited onto a 1 inch by 1 inch by0.062 inch thick piece of nickel foam before compression can becalculated based on the porosity of the metal foam.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of manufacturinga graphene-metal composite according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent technology. FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for manufacturing agraphene-metal composite. At step 510, method 500 begins by depositinggraphene onto a porous metal foam substrate. In some embodiments, theporous metal foam substrate is nickel foam where the nickel foam has ahigh porosity of at least 95% or more. In various embodiments, graphenecan be deposited onto the nickel foam by the chemical vaporizationdeposition process described in FIG. 4.

Various different methods can also be used to produce graphene.According to some embodiment, graphene can be chemically synthesized byusing chemicals to purify graphite and heat to reshape and reform thecarbon atoms into nano-structured configuration which can be processedinto sheets, added onto nickel foam, or processed into carbon nanotubes.Carbon nanotube ropes can be grown throughout the porous structure of ametal foam using a catalyst material and a heated carbon-rich gasflowing over the metal surface. These carbon nanotube ropes would occupythe voids within the metal foam, and when the desired amount of carbonnanotubes is produced, the foam can be compressed, leaving a thermal andelectrical super highway through the materials.

In some embodiments, graphene can be produced from graphite usingultrasonic irradiation. Graphite is added in a mixture of dilute organicacid, alcohol, and water, and the mixture is exposed to ultrasonicirradiation. The acid separates the graphene sheets head together by vander Waals bonds, resulting in a large quantity of undamaged,high-quality graphene dispersed into water.

In an exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 6, graphene-enhanced nickelfoam 602 can be roll bonded to the surface of a structural material 604,filling pre-stamped openings to allow for a thermal and electricalconduit to pass through the structural material. This will allowthermal, electrical, and shielding properties to travel in a co-planardirection as well as a trans-planar path, thus adding more capacity tothe mass and amplifying the composite's ability to act as a superconduit. By having relief areas in the structural member before rollbonding the structural member to the graphene-enhanced foam, thermalpathways can be created to help dissipate heat through the structuralmember and out of a device through the metal foam composite. See, e.g.,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/876,733, filed Oct. 6, 2015, titled“Multiple Layered Alloy/Non Alloy Clad Materials and Methods ofManufacture”, the disclosure of which is incorporate herein by referencein its entirety for all purposes. The present application disclosesadditional embodiments of roll bonded clad material.

According to some embodiments as depicted in FIG. 7, layers of copperfoil 704 coated with graphene can be roll bonded. For example, a 0.003inch thick roll bonded material may comprise two outers layers of nickel702 each 0.0004 inch think and six 0.0004 inch layers of copper 704between the layers of nickel 702. Coating the outside of two layers ofnickel foil 702 yields eight layers of graphene and 12 more layers ofgraphene are added to the six copper layers 704, giving a total of 20layers of graphene within the 0.03 inch of roll bonded material. In someembodiments, graphene can be grown on thin sheets of nickel, copper,tin, or any other metal. After the growth process, the thin metal sheetsare atomically bonded together by a cladding process.

The resultant composite has many layers of metal and graphene, addingmore capacity to the mass, allowing for greater thermal, electrical, andshielding properties of the composite.

In an alternate embodiment, a predefined material, such as copper,nickel, tin, or any other metal or target material, can be deposited atan atomic level on an intended substrate, such as a layer of graphene,stanene, or graphane, by sputter deposition, a physical vapor depositionmethod of depositing thin films by sputtering whereby particles areejected from a target material due to the collision of the targetmaterial by high energy particles. In some embodiments, the sputterdeposition is performed in a vacuum chamber where air is continuouslyremoved, for example, by a vacuum pump, and argon gas is introduced. Asthe argon atoms collide with the predefined target material, atoms fromthe surface of the predefined target material and ejected and collectedlayer by layer on the substrate opposite the target, resulting forexample, in copper sputtered between layers of graphene on the atomiclevel. In exemplary embodiment, the predefined material is sputteredonto the graphene with minimum damage or degradation into the graphenelattice. After the sputter deposition process, the layers of graphenesputtered with copper can be atomically bonded together by a claddingprocess. The resultant composite also has many layers of metal andgraphene, adding more capacity to the mass, allowing for greaterthermal, electrical, and shielding properties of the composite.

In another embodiment, metals, thermal plastics, or conductiveelastomers can be 3D printed into the voids of nickel foam. Injectionmolding, compression molding, and die casting are additional methods ofintroducing thermal plastics or metals on the surface or into the voidsof nickel foam. According to exemplary embodiments, thermal paths can beselectively added to certain areas of the nickel foam, making theselected area conductive, while other particular areas would be selectedto be insulated within the nickel foam. After the selective addition ofthermal paths, the nickel foam can be compressed.

In some embodiments, enhanced graphene-nickel foam 802 that may have atleast one layer of graphene deposited onto a metal foam substrate can bedie casted or injection molded into a frame 804, such as an aluminummobile phone frame, any aluminum frame, zinc frame, plastic frame, orframe of any material, as depicted in FIG. 8. After die casting nickelfoam 802 into an aluminum casing 804, there would be very little stressbetween the nickel foam 802 and aluminum casing. The nickel foam 802could then be compressed to a thickness of 0.1 mm to 0.45 mm whilekeeping the surface of the foam uniform and flat and parallel to the diecast frame 804.

At step 520, the metal foam substrate deposited with graphene iscompressed to a desired level of thickness using any desired means ofcompression. In some embodiments, the metal foam substrate depositedwith graphene is compressed substantially closing the voids within themetal foam substrate and making the metal foam substrate with graphenethinner than the thickness of the non-compressed metal foam substrate.For example, nickel foam with thickness of 0.200 inches can be coatedwith graphene by CVD. Then, the coated nickel foam is rolled orcompressed to form a graphene-nickel composite with a thickness of 0.010inches, twenty times thinner than the thickness of the non-compressednickel foam. In various embodiments, the amount of compression can beused to control the elastomeric properties of the graphene-metalcomposite.

The graphene-nickel composite comprises a matrix of graphene inside thenickel foam such that the composite is 40 times more efficient than asingle layer of graphene. The properties of the nickel foam aretremendously enhanced by the compression, creating a thermal andelectrical conduit. Since graphene is elastic and stretchy, it can becompressed. However, graphene should not be subjected to high heat (over700° C. in the presence of oxygen) or else it will decompose and convertto carbon dioxide. Also, graphene has been reported to be as brittle asceramics and can crack. Graphene can even crack while it ismanufactured.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating another example method ofmanufacturing a graphene-metal composite according to exemplaryembodiments of the present technology. FIG. 9 illustrates a method 900for manufacturing a graphene-metal composite where the metal foamsubstrate can be coated with a plurality of layers of graphene. Similarto method 500, method 900 begins at step 910 by depositing graphene ontoa porous metal substrate. In some embodiments, the graphene is depositedby chemical vapor deposition, the graphene is chemically synthesized, orany other method of synthesizing and depositing graphene.

At step 920, a layer of metal is applied to the metal foam substratedeposited with graphene. In some embodiments, the metal is flash coatedor plated over the graphene. In order for graphene to be layered on themetal foam substrate, a metal layer needs to be applied between graphenelayers because as previously discussed direct layers of graphene willcreate graphite, which is brittle and has less desirable thermalproperties than graphene. By adding multiple layers graphene and metalto a metal foam substrate, the thermal and electrical properties of thegraphene-metal composite could be increased exponentially. Additionally,in various embodiments, the metal that is applied between the layer ofgraphene can be any metal, including, but not limited to copper, nickel,palladium or gold. Furthermore, any substrate upon which graphene can begrown can be used in the present technology, such as glass and ceramic,although their conductivity is low. Nickel has better properties forgrowing graphene allowing two layers of graphene per side to be grown ina single process. It is also very malleable, has good corrosion quality,but it is not very strong and its conductivity is about four times lowerthan copper. Copper is soft, malleable, and has great thermalcharacteristics.

At step 930, graphene is deposited onto the layer of metal usingchemical vapor deposition, the graphene is chemically synthesized, orany other method of synthesizing and depositing graphene. Then steps 920and 930 can be repeated to deposit a desired number of layers ofgraphene. For example, steps 920 and 930 can be repeated 6, 7, or 8times. Once the desired number of layers of graphene is deposited, themultilayered metal foam substrate is then compressed or rolled at step940 to a desired level of thickness, resulting in a graphene-metalcomposite.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method ofmanufacturing a graphane-metal composite according to exemplaryembodiments of the present technology. FIG. 10 illustrates a method 1000for manufacturing a graphane-metal composite. At step 1010, method 1000begins by depositing graphane onto a porous metal foam substrate. Insome embodiments, the graphane is deposited by chemical vapordeposition, the graphane is chemically synthesized, or any other methodof synthesizing and depositing graphane. At step 1020, the metal foamsubstrate deposited with graphane is compressed to a desired level ofthickness using any desired means of compression. FIG. 11 is a flowdiagram illustrating another example method of manufacturing agraphane-metal composite according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent technology. FIG. 11 illustrates a method 1100 for manufacturinga graphane-metal composite where the metal foam substrate can be coatedwith a plurality of layers of graphane. Similar to method 1000, method1100 begins at step 1110 by depositing graphane onto a porous metalsubstrate. In some embodiments, the graphane is deposited by chemicalvapor deposition, the graphane is chemically synthesized, or any othermethod of synthesizing and depositing graphane.

At step 1120, a layer of metal is applied to the metal foam substratedeposited with graphane. In some embodiments, the metal is flash coatedor plated over the graphane. In order for graphane to be layered on themetal foam substrate, a metal layer needs to be applied between graphanelayers because as previously discussed direct layers of graphane willcreate graphite, which is brittle and has less desirable thermalproperties than graphane. By adding multiple layers graphane and metalto a metal foam substrate, the thermal and electrical properties of thegraphane-metal composite could be increased exponentially. Additionally,in various embodiments, the metal that is applied between the layer ofgraphane can be any metal, including, but not limited to copper, nickel,palladium or gold. Furthermore, any substrate upon which graphane can begrown can be used in the present technology, such as glass and ceramic,although their conductivity is low. Nickel has better properties forgrowing graphane allowing two layers of graphane per side to be grown ina single process. It is also very malleable, has good corrosion quality,but it is not very strong and its conductivity is about four times lowerthan copper. Copper is soft, malleable, and has great thermalcharacteristics.

At step 1130, graphane is deposited onto the layer of metal usingchemical vapor deposition, the graphane is chemically synthesized, orany other method of synthesizing and depositing graphane. Then steps1120 and 1130 can be repeated to deposit a desired number of layers ofgraphane. For example, steps 1120 and 1130 can be repeated 6, 7, or 8times. Once the desired number of layers of graphane is deposited, themultilayered metal foam substrate is then compressed or rolled at step1140 to a desired level of thickness, resulting in a graphane-metalcomposite.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example computer system 1 that can be utilized tocontrol the chemical vapor deposition machine and compression machine.That is, the computer system 1 can select thermal profiles to controlthe heating and cooling during graphane deposition.

The computer system 1, within which a set of instructions for causingthe machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein may be executed. In various example embodiments, the machineoperates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate inthe capacity of a server or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine may be a robotic construction markingdevice, a base station, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-topbox (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, aportable music player (e.g., a portable hard drive audio device such asan Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3 (MP3) player), a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a singlemachine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines that individually or jointly executea set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more ofthe methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 1 includes a processor or multipleprocessors 5 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both), and a main memory 10 and static memory15, which communicate with each other via a bus

20. The computer system 1 may further include a video display 35 (e.g.,a liquid crystal display (LCD)). The computer system 1 may also includean alpha-numeric input device(s) 30 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice (e.g., a mouse), a voice recognition or biometric verificationunit (not shown), a drive unit 37 (also referred to as disk drive unit),a signal generation device 40 (e.g., a speaker), and a network interfacedevice 45. The computer system 1 may further include a data encryptionmodule (not shown) to encrypt data.

The drive unit 37 includes a computer or machine-readable medium 50 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions and data structures(e.g., instructions 55) embodying or utilizing any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 55 mayalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 10and/or within the processors 5 during execution thereof by the computersystem 1. The main memory 10 and the processors 5 may also constitutemachine-readable media.

The instructions 55 may further be transmitted or received over anetwork via the network interface device 45 utilizing any one of anumber of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., Hyper Text TransferProtocol (HTTP)). While the machine-readable medium 50 is shown in anexample embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readablemedium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media(e.g., a centralized or distributed database and/or associated cachesand servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructionsfor execution by the machine and that causes the machine to perform anyone or more of the methodologies of the present application, or that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures utilized by orassociated with such a set of instructions. The term “computer-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wavesignals. Such media may also include, without limitation, hard disks,floppy disks, flash memory cards, digital video disks, random accessmemory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and the like. The exampleembodiments described herein may be implemented in an operatingenvironment comprising software installed on a computer, in hardware, orin a combination of software and hardware.

Not all components of the computer system 1 are required and thusportions of the computer system 1 can be removed if not needed, such asInput/Output (I/O) devices (e.g., input device(s) 30). One skilled inthe art will recognize that the Internet service may be configured toprovide Internet access to one or more computing devices that arecoupled to the Internet service, and that the computing devices mayinclude one or more processors, buses, memory devices, display devices,input/output devices, and the like. Furthermore, those skilled in theart may appreciate that the Internet service may be coupled to one ormore databases, repositories, servers, and the like, which may beutilized in order to implement any of the embodiments of the disclosureas described herein.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example method of the present disclosurefor creating a graphane-metal or graphene-metal composite that isprovided with a thin metal coating, in accordance with the presentdisclosure. The method generally comprises any of the compositeproducing methods described infra. For example, the method comprises astep 1302 of depositing graphane onto a porous metal foam substrate andcompressing the porous metal foam substrate with graphane to form agraphane-metal composite.

Next, the method includes a step 1304 of compressing the porous metalfoam substrate with graphane applied to form a graphane-metal composite.

In some embodiments, the methods for creating composite products producea composite product having one or more outer surfaces coated with a thinmetal coating of the present disclosure. In other embodiments all of theouter surfaces of the composite product are coated with a thin metalcoating.

Thus, the method comprises a step 1306 of depositing a thin metalcoating on an outer surface of the porous metal foam substrate or anouter surface of the graphane using any of physical vapor deposition andchemical vapor deposition. In some embodiments all outer surfaces of thecomposite product are coated with the thin metal coating.

As noted above, metallic compositions that can be used to create thethin metal films of the present include, but are not limited to copper,nickel, chromium, tungsten, gold, silver, platinum, titanium, aluminum,molybdenum, germanium, zinc, tantalum, tin, and combinations thereof.

As noted above, any suitable PVD or CVD method disclosed infra can beutilized to coat one or more of the outer surfaces of the compositeproduct.

While the above example set forth a method of providing a thin metalcoating on a graphane composite of the present disclosure, the method ofFIG. 13 can be adopted to produce a thin metal coated graphene compositeas well.

FIG. 14 is a specific method for both creating a composite product suchas a graphane or graphene composite material, as well as a CVD processin accordance with the present disclosure. The method generally includessteps for creating a graphane and/or graphene by a step 1402 ofdepositing a layer of graphane onto a porous metal foam substrate.Additionally, this method can include a step 1404 of compressing theporous metal foam substrate with graphane to form a graphane-metalcomposite. Any method disclosed infra can be utilized to create acomposite product/material of the present disclosure.

Thus, whatever method or process utilized, the method can include a step1406 of placing the composite product (e.g., graphane and/or graphenemetal composite) in a vacuum chamber and a step 1408 of inducing avacuum in the vacuum chamber.

In some embodiments, the method includes a step 1410 of introducing atarget metal or alloy into the vacuum chamber and a step 1412 ofvaporizing the target metal or alloy. As noted above, the targetmetallic compositions that can be used to create the thin metal films ofthe present include, but are not limited to copper, nickel, chromium,tungsten, gold, silver, platinum, titanium, aluminum, molybdenum,germanium, zinc, tantalum, tin, and combinations thereof.

According to some embodiments, the method includes a step 1414 ofallowing the vaporized target metal or alloy to deposit on an outersurface of the composite product.

In some embodiments, the step 1412 of vaporization can include analternate sub-step 1412A of injecting plasma into the vacuum chamber atthe target metal or alloy in such a way that the plasma contacts thetarget metal or alloy. It will be understood that molecules or clustersof atoms of the target metal or alloy are ejected, traveling to thecomposite material and adhering to an outer surface thereof.

In some embodiments, the step 1412 can include an alternate sub-step1412B of vaporization that includes using magnetron sputtering, ion-beamsputtering, reactive sputtering, and high-target-utilization sputtering.

In some embodiments, the step 1412 of vaporization can include analternate sub-step 1412C of introducing energy into the vacuum chamberby way of high temperature means, high-power laser means, high-powerelectric arc discharge means, highly energetic pulsed electron beammeans, high energy electron means, and combinations thereof. Thissub-method in step 1412C is utilized to increase evaporation of a targetmetal or metallic alloy for use in a physical vapor deposition (PVD)process rather than CVD. Any one or more of these alternate sub-steps1412A-C can be utilized in accordance with the present disclosure. Thesesub-steps can also be utilized in various combinations and/orpermutations.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or“according to one embodiment” (or other phrases having similar import)at various places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments. Furthermore, depending on the context ofdiscussion herein, a singular term may include its plural forms and aplural term may include its singular form. Similarly, a hyphenated term(e.g., “on-demand”) may be occasionally interchangeably used with itsnon-hyphenated version (e.g., “on demand”), a capitalized entry (e.g.,“Software”) may be interchangeably used with its non-capitalized version(e.g., “software”), a plural term may be indicated with or without anapostrophe (e.g., PE's or PEs), and an italicized term (e.g., “N+1”) maybe interchangeably used with its non-italicized version (e.g., “N+1”).Such occasional interchangeable uses shall not be consideredinconsistent with each other.

Also, some embodiments may be described in terms of “means for”performing a task or set of tasks. It will be understood that a “meansfor” may be expressed herein in terms of a structure, such as aprocessor, a memory, an I/O device such as a camera, or combinationsthereof. Alternatively, the “means for” may include an algorithm that isdescriptive of a function or method step, while in yet other embodimentsthe “means for” is expressed in terms of a mathematical formula, prose,or as a flow chart or signal diagram.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the system aredescribed above for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the system, as thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processesor steps are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments mayperform routines having steps in a different order, and some processesor steps may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/ormodified to provide alternative or sub-combinations. Each of theseprocesses or steps may be implemented in a variety of different ways.Also, while processes or steps are at times shown as being performed inseries, these processes or steps may instead be performed in parallel,or may be performed at different times.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. The descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention to the particular forms set forth herein. To the contrary, thepresent descriptions are intended to cover such alternatives,modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and otherwiseappreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the breadth andscope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of theabove-described exemplary embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for manufacturing a graphane-metalcomposite comprising: depositing graphane onto a porous metal foamsubstrate; compressing the porous metal foam substrate with graphaneapplied to form a graphane-metal composite; and depositing a thin metalcoating on an outer surface of the graphane-metal composite using any ofphysical vapor deposition and chemical vapor deposition.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein any of the outer surface of the porousmetal foam substrate and the outer surface of the graphane areelectrically conductive.
 3. The method according to claim 2, furthercomprising: inducing a vacuum around the graphane-metal composite; andadding energy within the vacuum to promote evaporation of the targetmetal or metal alloy using any of high temperature for thermalevaporation deposition, high-power laser for pulsed laser deposition,high-power electric arc discharge for cathodic arc deposition, highlyenergetic pulsed electron beam for pulsed electron deposition, and highenergy electron for electron beam physical vapor deposition.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the depositing graphane to a porousmetal foam substrate is by chemical vapor deposition.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the depositing graphane to a porous metalfoam substrate is by growing carbon nanotubes on the surface of theporous metal foam substrate before compressing the porous metal foamsubstrate.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the depositinggraphane to a porous metal foam substrate comprises: synthesizing carbonnanotubes within voids of the porous metal foam substrate; and threadingthe voids of the porous metal foam substrate with the carbon nanotubethreads before compressing the porous metal foam substrate.
 7. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the depositing graphane to a porousmetal foam substrate comprises 3D printing thermal elastomers or metalinto voids in the porous metal foam substrate surface before compressingthe porous metal foam substrate.
 8. The method according to claim 7,wherein the thermal elastomers or metal are selectively added to certainareas of the porous metal foam substrate before compressing the porousmetal foam substrate.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein theporous metal foam substrate with graphane applied is compressed tosubstantially close the voids in the porous metal foam substrate andmake the compressed porous metal foam substrate with graphane appliedthinner than the thickness of the non-compressed porous metal foamsubstrate.
 10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising diecasting or injection molding the graphane-metal composite into analuminum, zinc, or plastic frame.
 11. The method according to claim 1,further comprising roll bonding the graphane-metal composite into astructural member.
 12. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising roll bonding at least one layer of graphane-metal compositeto at least one layer of copper foil coated with graphane.
 13. Agraphane-metal composite comprising: a porous metal foam substrate; agraphane layer deposited to the porous metal foam substrate, the porousmetal foam substrate and graphane being compressed to form agraphane-metal composite; and a thin metal coating deposited on an outersurface of the graphane-metal composite using any of physical vapordeposition and chemical vapor deposition.
 14. The graphane-metalcomposite according to claim 13, wherein the porous metal foam substrateis nickel or copper foam.
 15. The graphane-metal composite according toclaim 13, wherein the porosity of the porous metal foam substrate is atleast 70%.
 16. The graphane-metal composite according to claim 13,wherein the graphane layer is deposited to the porous metal foamsubstrate by chemical vapor deposition.
 17. The graphane-metal compositeaccording to claim 13, wherein the porous metal foam substrate withgraphane applied is compressed to substantially close the voids in theporous metal foam substrate and make the compressed porous metal foamsubstrate with graphane applied thinner than the thickness of thenon-compressed porous metal foam substrate.
 18. A method formanufacturing a graphane-metal composite comprising: depositing a layerof graphane onto a porous metal foam substrate; applying a layer ofmetal on top of the layer of graphane; depositing another layer ofgraphane onto the layer of metal; compressing the porous metal foamsubstrate and the layer of metal and the additional layer of graphane toform a multilayered graphane-metal composite; placing the multilayeredgraphane-metal composite in a vacuum chamber; vaporizing a target metalor alloy; and allowing the vaporized target metal or alloy to deposit onan outer surface of the multilayered graphane-metal composite.
 19. Themethod according to claim 18, wherein vaporizing comprises: injecting aplasma into the vacuum chamber at the target metal or alloy in such away that the plasma contacts the target metal or alloy such thatmolecules or clusters of atoms of the target metal or alloy are ejected.20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the vaporizing utilizedcomprises any of magnetron sputtering, ion-beam sputtering, reactivesputtering, and high-target-utilization sputtering.
 21. The methodaccording to claim 18, wherein vaporizing is performed using hightemperature, high-power laser, high-power electric arc discharge, highlyenergetic pulsed electron beam, high energy electron, and combinationsthereof.
 22. The method according to claim 18, wherein vaporizingcomprises chemical vapor deposition of the target metal or alloy.